Sunday, September 06, 2009

Honda Civic Automatic Transmission Gear Shift Light

(I have also posted this on Fixya)

I successfully did this on my 2001 Honda Civic.

You have to remove the entire center console to get to the light. I recommend actually having the replacement bulb prior to starting. I used a Sylvania 74 that I picked up at the local auto parts store. They are tiny bulbs. About $3.

Here is a diagram I found that was very helpful in removing the center console:

In A above, you have to work out the middle portion of the console by pulling up on it. There are tabs that hold it in place on either side of it but you can't get to them. By using my fingers and grabbing the inside of the main dish, I applied upward pressure and it came out. It did not break in the process, but I can't guarantee the result will be the same for you.

In picture B you will see that there are two screws hidden underneath the part you just removed. You need to remove those two screws plus the two tabs shown in front and the two screws located in the rear close to the floor.

You will need to put the shift into neutral or farther back to then lift out the entire console.

Once the console is removed you will see a wire going into the right side just underneath the gear shift. If you look into where it's going, you will see the back side of a small round socket. Rotate the socket about 90 degrees and it should come out. Voila! The bulb.

Simply pull the bulb out and push in a new one. Turn on the headlights to test. The bulb should be nicely lit.

Now push the socket back into where it came from and rotate back 90 degrees to lock it in place. If you reverse the rest of the instructions, putting the console back together will just take a minute or two.

Finally, write an email to Honda and tell them what you think about how easy it is to replace this lamp.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cheers mate.
Helped me out a lot.

Anonymous said...

very well

information you write it very clean. I'm very lucky to get this information from you.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot.

This was great, I just did it, took about 5 minutes. Great instructions.

You will need a screwdriver for the 4 screws and something to push the two front tabs out. I used a flat screwdriver.

Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for the post! I spent just 15 min. to do what you told. I also used two flat screw drivers, that helped me to define the tabs. Console came up easily without breaking anything in the process.

Anonymous said...

Great Info, I've been trying to find how to do this and your posting is the only one that is correct.
I must have a different wiring as my Civic doesn't take the 74 bulb. It is half that size. I'll be going to the parts store later to see if I can get one.
Thanks for the great job here......